Sew Inspiring

The children and I had a fantastic half-term week in Cornwall, visiting my parents. It's always great to see them for obvious reasons, but also for some other ones too:

• They live right by the sea.


• H loves taking the dogs out for a walk over the cliffs in the morning.


• We all get spoiled rotten, with cups of tea in bed and cooked breakfasts.


• Proper Cornish pasties and proper Cornish cream teas (jam, then cream in Cornwall!)


• A free ice cream in Boscastle Rock Shop!


• I get to rifle through my mum's fabric stash (oh the joys of having a dad as a fabric agent!)


• I get to go to all my mums sewing and knitting groups, learn new skills and watch everyone else make wonderful quilts and take home lots of inspiration for my own.

Each night, mum and I spent the evening planning what we were going to make. After my friend Gill bought Sew Pretty Homestyle, I rang my mum to tell her about this wonderful book, and that I was going to buy it. My mum sounded a bit strange on the phone, it was only later that I discovered she had already bought it for me for Christmas! I was very happy when she presented me with two early presents....the book, and a much longed for needle case. She made the needle case for her local WI competition and won, I'm sure you'll agree she is very talented. I hope it runs in the family! The middle heart is padded as it's a small pin cushion. In the picture of the front is my new matching pin cushion which is also from the SPH book (how excited can a girl get about a needle case and a pin cushion...pretty excited I can tell you!)

We took a trip to what is becoming one of my favourite shops, shame it is such a long way away. http://www.cowslipworkshops.co.uk/index.php and I bought a few fat quarters, much to my dad's amusement as my mum has a sewing room FULL of fabric. I will add a photograph another time, it really needs to be seen to be believed (and I'm sure she'll thank me for saying that!).

This is a project that is all cut out and ready to go...

So...to the strawberries. As soon as I saw the book I knew I had to make them (and the cushion too). I even bought some Strawberry Essence from Ebay, which smells just like Strawberry laces, I can't stop sniffing it!

I meant to make the strawberries out of my newly purchased fabric, but my mum suggested making a few trial ones. They went well, so I made some out of plain red fabric which I have yet to finish as I want to put beads on where the seeds of the strawberry should go.

I then started making hearts (because I love absolutely anything heart-shaped), and after buying some Merry Christmas tape from http://www.thesummerhouse.co.uk/ (another fabulous shop, where I bought my Driftwood heart from in the summer!) I decided to sew those onto the hearts to make little Christmas decorations. However, I've now decided these hearts are going to be my Christmas cards/decorations for close friends/family - so if you get one, I hope you like them!

I also made this for my newly engaged sister-in-law (I feel like I'm doing a show-and-tell here!). My mum made one for us a few years ago with four little stockings that we put over our fireplace. These are for Suzie and David. Obviously if they have children we will add stocking, or two!

When I went to my mum's patchwork and quilting group I was upset to have forgotten my camera. Not only do they have their own projects on the go, they all recently made little tiny quilts for premature babies for a hospital in Hampshire, they make little quilted bags with toiletries in for any family members staying in the local hospice AND they make quilts for that get raffled for charity! The week really did make me feel sew inspired.... My mum and dad are visiting us for a week this Friday, as R is off to South Africa (that will probably be another blog as this one is long enough!). Anyway I have lots of things planned while they are here, mostly sewing, and a trip to John Lewis in Bluewater to get more loot!

All Things Pinkie

I used to hate pink....until my daughter was born.

Being a redhead, I was never a pinkie kind of girl as everyone used to tell me that it clashed with my hair! As a child, my hair was the kind that all adults would fawn over and tell you they'd love to have hair like mine. As a child and teenager, I was teased because of it - believe me, there isn't any insult I haven't heard! It was thick and curly and my mum, who wasn't really into ponytails and plaits, cut it short......big mistake, huge mistake. So I wasn't dressed in pink as a child and I had short hair so was often mistaken for a boy - Ugh!

When I was pregnant I was delighted to find out I was having a girl, although I said I would never do the "pink thing" with her as I still wasn't a fan. Her bedroom was going to be a buttery yellow with white curtains with hand-embroidered daisies over them...and not a pink toy, blanket or sleepsuit in sight. In fact, when I was pregnant with H, and was told at 20 weeks it was a girl, the baby's bedroom was apple green and white! (and of course it was a good thing we didn't do a pinkie makeover then, as H was confirmed as a boy at a random scan at 32 weeks!!

When C was born, the midwife dressed her in a pale pink tiny-baby sleepsuit I had borrowed from a friend, as it was the only one that fitted her. She was swamped in the yellow sleepsuits and the other borrowed Winnie-the-Pooh sleepsuits (I was secretly pleased as I'm not a fan of Pooh either!!) When we got home, friends and family visited, gifts started arriving and everything was PINK! A whole spectrum of pink, from hot pink from Auntie Suzie, and real dusky pink dresses with frilly knickers(!) from Great-Nannies. The colour that I had not really been fond of, was everywhere and when a huge pink box arrived with a huge pink bow, pink cuddly toy, blanket, sleepsuit, socks and hat, we knew this colour was here to stay!

C is mad on pink (and who can blame her).

She calls it Pinkie and so do we, even her nursery teachers adopted the name Pinkie, hence my Blogger name, as C also loves Cupcakes.

However, when we jokingly asked the other day what colour she'd like her new bedroom (once it's been built), she replied.................PURPLE!

Holidays, and back to earth with a bump

Ugh, school has started. I keep thinking "this time last week we were....."

<-----Here.

We had a wonderful week in Kent, with the beach at the end of our shingle road, a row of beach huts, a tea room, paper shop and a pub. What more did we need! We swam in the sea every day and slept soundly each night. It seemed very very dark without streetlights, and so peaceful. It was fantastic to sit outside and look up at the full moon.

Still, the week had to end and suddenly I was doing last-minute label sewing, buying forgotten school equipment (and then finding it after I'd bought a second lot) and catching up on household chores. H&C went back to school with no problems (although C has cried a little!). I miss them, but I don't miss running after them constantly tidying and re-tidying!

C has moved up another class, but she told me last night that she preferred being in the nursery, but wanted to be able to wear her dress. Isn't it hard telling your children that although they don't like doing something, they kinda have to? I remember when H started at his new school, he HATED it, and me. But we made the right decision, he just wouldn't be persuaded at the time (he is stubborn like his mother!) Now he absolutely loves it, he couldn't wait to get back and see his friends.

I'm sure C will get to that stage eventually (I hope!). Until then, bribery of "Bravery Awards" (a pink Stephanie from Lazytown Wig and Dress) and chocolate fish from Waitrose seem to be keeping the tears at bay. I haven't forgotten H, he was awarded a Kindness award at school this week, for not only being kind to his friends, but for checking up on his sister every break time - a much longed-for Batman game for his Leapster is on its way. They will come down from earth with a bump next week when homework starts and it's carrot sticks and fruit on the way home!!

The Joy of School Holidays....

I love having the kids around. OK, so they may bicker, make lots of mess and wear me out to the point of exhaustion, but I love having them around! On Monday we spent practically all day in the garden, laying under the tree, reading, playing football, making camps and generally lazing about.

On Tuesday we went to the cinema to see Evan Almighty (very good). Yesterday we went to a garden centre to buy plants for one of our borders and spent the afternoon planting. I'd forgotten how relaxing being in the garden can be. Now all I have to do is buy some slug pelletts so the buggers don't eat everything. I'm sure my neighbour slings them over the fence as we've had them in epidemic proportions this year!

Today we were at the park and the kids didn't stop running, cycling and playing for 5 solid hours. Needless to say they were in bed and asleep by 7 o'clock! Days are flying by and soon they will be back at school (groan). The school run isn't a favourite pastime, and we'll have to get used to getting dressed before midday and not making chocolate brownies in our jammies.

We still have lots of other activities planned - painting, more baking, a visit to Kew Gardens, a PYO farm, Thames Barrier Park (shame about the fountains though!) and then it'll be off to the coast for another week. Lovely.

Oh, and I'm swimming the channel! Not literally, but 1760 lengths of my local pool in order to raise money for ASPIRE. That should get me fit.

Happy Days.

A Driftwood Heart....

This is my latest acquisition, a heart made entirely out of driftwood from the Cornish coast. Combining my two favourite items, I spied it in a shop and R rolled his eyes and laughed, knowing I had to have it! I said he could buy it for my birthday, but my parents bought it instead. R seemed to think I had enough driftwood to make one of my own, but it would take me another year to collect enough - and I can't wait that long.

I love it, and even though R and my Dad were silent when I asked "Isn't it beautiful" I think it is. They just have no taste!!

It's in the family room on the wall at the moment, but once THE extension is done, it will go in our room.

Not just driftwood floating on the water now.....